Mir Nadia Nivin Set to Become Next IDRA Chairperson

By Staff Correspondent: Mir Nadia Nivin is expected to be appointed as the next Chairperson of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), according to discussions circulating in Bangladesh’s insurance sector.

According to sources, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance has already approved her appointment. The formal appointment is expected to be announced through an official gazette after receiving final approval from the Prime Minister. Industry insiders say the gazette notification could be issued at any time.

The position has remained vacant since former IDRA Chairman Dr. Aslam Alam resigned on March 2. Since then, speculation over the appointment of a new chairperson has continued in the insurance industry.

In the meantime, the government amended provisions related to the appointment of the IDRA chairman and members. A gazette notification regarding the amendment was published on May 5. Under the revised law, the age limit for appointments has been removed, while the experience requirements remain largely unchanged.

According to Section 7(1) of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act, 2010, candidates must have at least 20 years of experience in insurance, finance, banking, marketing, statistics, accounting, management, administration, or law. However, the law does not specify any particular educational qualification or require experience in a specific position. Furthermore, Section 7(2) allows the government to relax the experience requirement if a suitably qualified candidate cannot be found.

Who is Mir Nadia Nivin?

Mir Nadia Nivin served as a member of Bangladesh’s Electoral System Reform Commission under the interim government. She joined the board of Delta Life Insurance Company as an independent director in October 2025. According to a source at the insurer, she continues to hold that position.

An interview published by English-language online media outlet The Prestige on April 13 highlighted her academic and professional background. In the interview, Mir Nadia Nivin said she was born in Kuwait and attended an English-medium school there before returning to Bangladesh with her parents while studying in the fourth grade.

She completed a master’s degree from California State University, Sacramento in 2006 and later earned another master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Mir Nadia Nivin began her professional career in August 2007 as a Programme Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She also worked with the Government of Bangladesh’s Access to Information (a2i) programme.

Her international career started in 2009 when she received her first overseas assignment in Germany. She later joined UNDP headquarters in New York as a member of the Global Elections Team, which provided policy support on election-related issues to UNDP country offices around the world.

In 2013, she worked in Afghanistan as an Elections Programme Specialist. Her responsibilities included projects related to elections, parliamentary affairs, public financial management, local government, public administration capacity development and gender equality.

Over the following years, she worked in Pakistan’s former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where she was involved in programmes supporting displaced communities and rehabilitation efforts.

In 2018, Mir Nadia Nivin worked in Malaysia, collaborating with the Election Commission, Parliament, anti-corruption institutions under the Prime Minister’s Office, and several other national agencies.

She joined a programme in Myanmar in March 2020, where she worked on digital healthcare initiatives, cross-border vaccination programmes and the United Nations’ first artificial intelligence-based human rights initiative.